As the Texas offense finally found its footing against Power Conference opponents, the Longhorns' defense continued to excel, dominating the Vanderbilt Commodores at the line of scrimmage and taking down quarterback Diego Pavia on numerous occasions.
Heading into the game, Vanderbilt had given up just seven sacks all season. The Horns nearly doubled that, earning six sacks on Pavia.
Simply put, the recipe that Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski cooked up was exactly what the defense needed to halt the Commodore offense as often as possible.
Vandy offensive scheme was useless against Longhorns
Pavia and the 'Dores had been dominant through almost all of their first eight games, only struggling to find their footing against the Alabama Crimson Tide before coming to Austin.